


A Cascade of Snowflakes

by Rinniebee



Series: The seasons are four perfect movements in harmony [1]
Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Also a kinda fix-it for the gilmore girls revival, F/M, Rory Gilmore is happy and a journalist who got a promotion!!!!!! BC SHE DESERVES IT!!!, but only really for winter bc I only did the winter season lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 11:56:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8749873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinniebee/pseuds/Rinniebee
Summary: AU. Logan and Rory's affair happened in their mid-twenties and resulted in Ricarla Lorelai "Ricci" Gilmore. While Rory didn't keep Logan away from their daughter, she refused to take Huntzberger hand-outs and moved to Philadelphia with the plan to work for Truncheon as an editor while pregnant. Rory found a steady job at Philadelphia Center Cable News (PCCN) as a news writer and worked her way up to a segment host for a half-hour show called 'Live at Nine'. Jess and Rory have been living together since she moved to Philly, and their relationship has slowly built into something more in the five years they've been together. This story takes place over Christmas and New Years of 2015.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! 
> 
> This is a fic I've been thinking of writing for a while now and when I sat down and did it, it turned out to be over 11k words! I would like to thank my bomb friends who listened to me rant about it and read the snippets I gave them ;) you're all the best! I would also like to thank a very awesome person on reddit (chickaboom_) for coming up with the headcanon that Jess should be a Christmas baby and that hilarious thing between Liz and Jess with Jess' name. And a shoutout to o0osrc725o0o for her jess/rory headcanon thread in the first place!
> 
> This was originally supposed to cover every single season just like the revival (since it's basically a literati focused re-do of it), and it still might turn out that way, but this could stand alone, too. So, for that reason I decided to upload this as a one shot, but you may notice that it's apart of a "series". I have a feeling I'll be writing a lot more about this "modern" family I've created, so I figured it was easier to keep it confined to as a series.
> 
> Anyway, without ranting further, I obviously do not own GG (bc if I did the revival would've been SO much different), and I hope you enjoy!

**A _CASCADE_ OF  SNOWFLAKES**

**I. DECEMBER 23** ** RD ** **2015**

The drive to Stars Hollow was long and exhausting thanks to the awful snow storm wrecking the east coast. Her old Prius had jerked and swayed too much for her liking, but it was the day before Christmas Eve and she had _promised_ her mom she’d be home for the holidays. The Diner Boys had fought against the idea, arguing that it would be safer for her to drive after the snow storm and not through it, but she was a Gilmore and Gilmore’s were nothing if not brave. Grandpa would’ve been proud (though, he, too, would’ve requested Rory to wait until after the storm had passed).

It was almost midnight by the time she parked in the driveway. Her two road trip partners were fast asleep, leaving her to bask in the quiet of car and her mother’s driveway for just a while. Rory took a deep breath, saying a silent, thankful prayer that they were able to make it home safely. The storm was still raging on, but the speed in which the snow flakes were falling had slowed down.

Jess stirred beside her, wincing as he moved his head from it’s odd sleeping position. He groaned as he opened his eyes, their colour almost completely black in the long shadows of the night. He stretched his hands toward the windshield, hissing as his elbows cracked before he rolled his shoulders back.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

“I’m surprised we’re alive,” he said, voice as scratchy as it usually was in the early morning. “I really thought I would’ve died in my sleep.”

Rory rolled her eyes and unclicked her seatbelt with a small ‘tsk’. “You just lack that Gilmore sense of adventure is all. As my mom always says, nothing bad ever happens when it snows.”

“She’s a prophet, that woman,” he drawled sarcastically, but Rory couldn’t do anything but laugh. Jess twisted in his seat to get a good look at the little girl behind him and Rory caught a hint of his secret smile. “Munchkin’s passed out, huh?”

“She practically slept the whole way. I think she fell asleep about thirty seconds in to the Little Mermaid soundtrack.”

Jess turned to face her then, famous smirk in place. “And yet we continued to listen?”

“Hey, Kiss the Girl is a master piece!”

“Uh huh.” Jess said, just before stepping out of the car and into the December cold. Rory could feel the deep chill in the air just from the draft. “Don’t worry, I’ve got Ric and the bags. Go inside and see your mom, I’m surprised she hasn’t rushed out here and mauled you already. ”

He shut the passenger side door and opened up the back one, gingerly unclipping Ricci from her booster seat and hoisting her sleeping form out of the car and onto his hip, her head resting firmly on his shoulder. Rory watched them with a soft, fond smile. Soon enough Ricci would be too big to carry like this. Rory forced herself out of the car and away from the scene when Jess caught her eye, raised his eyebrows and waved his hand in a quick ‘shoo!’.

The front door was locked, but Rory found the spare key in it’s usual place under the turtle (which was covered by a thick blanket of snow). Her finger tips were burning numb by the time she made it inside. All the lights were off save for the soft glow coming from the television. Her mother was wrapped up in a fuzzy blanket with miniature, cute-looking santa clauses all over it, and Luke was no where to be found.

Rory tiptoed toward her mother and bent over the back of the couch to kiss the top of her head. “Mommy?” She stage-whispered, and Lorelai mumbled something in her sleep. “Moooommy…”

Finally, her mom began to stir. Her long, mascara coated eyelashes fluttered against her skin leaving small black smudges on her lashline by the time she opened her eyes. “Rory!” She croaked just as Jess came in through the door, Ricci still asleep in his arm and their bags piled up on top of each other in his other. “You made it safely! I was trying to stay up but,” she yawned, “I was just so tired. Things at the inn have been crazy lately.”

“I’m sorry we’re so late,” Rory apologized.

“It’s never too late to see my favourite news anchor! It may be too late for that grumpy step-father of yours, but never for me.”

Rory huffed a laugh, but could only shake her head in amusement. She was not a news anchor, she was a live political analyst, but there was no telling her mother that. Rory had given up on trying years ago.

“Would you like some coffee?” Lorelai asked, rubbing at her eyes. “Or are you two just ready to go to sleep? I see Ricci is all tuckered out. Hey there, Jess.” She blew him a kiss and threw him a warm, toe-tingling smile. “You can just leave the bags there, Luke and I will handle it. I think Ricci needs a real bed and not Daddy’s shoulder.”

“I am not Daddy,” Jess argued half-heartedly as he shifted Ricci to put their bags down without waking her. Jess and her mother always played this game. It’d been on going for five years, and had never once changed. Rory used to be inclined to take Jess’ side, after all, he really _wasn’t_ Daddy—Ricci had a Dad, and he was blond, rich, successful, and married to a french heiress. And yet, that had never stopped Ricci from calling Jess ’Dada’ when she saw him as an infant. They had tried to fight it, but Ricci was relentless. It’d been five years since then, and Jess had resigned himself over to the truth—except for in the face of Lorelai Gilmore.

“Okay then… Pseudo-Daddy?”

“How about just Jess?”

Lorelai rolled her eyes. “That won’t do. Ricci already calls you Daddy. She’s five now, there’s no take backs.”

“ _‘Luke’_ seems to work just fine for Luke.”

“That’s different, he met Rory when she was old enough to know he wasn’t her dad. You’ve been with Ricci since the very beginning.”

Jess stopped, took a deep breath and looked down at the little girl in his arms. “Fine,” he caved, voice too soft to continue putting up a fight.

Lorelai squealed, quiet and controlled, but she clapped softly to go along with it. “I win! I understand that DJ Khaled song so much better now… Not that I didn’t get it before, but the gratification of rubbing James Dean’s nose in his loss is just such a power trip.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jess mumbled as he walked by them to get to Rory’s old room.

Rory smiled after Jess and her child, then looked down at her mother just before she pushed herself back from the couch to stand upright. “Are you ever going to stop teasing him? You know how he gets.”

“I haven’t the faintest clue what you speak of, my darling,” Lorelai said in a very bad British accent.

“Don’t be mean to him during the holidays. He’s a very good friend to me, and Ricci loves him,” Rory chided, giving her mother a firm and final kiss on the head. “I’ll see you in the morning. Thank you for trying to wait up.”

“Sleep tight, kid,” Lorelai called after her just as she left the living room. “And make sure Jess sleeps on the bottom bed of the trundle! Don’t scar your child for life before she’s old enough to say ‘dirty’ and mean it!”

Rory refused to dignify that with a verbal response, choosing to wave a silent goodnight. She shut the door to her old bedroom firmly behind her and sighed in exhaustion as she slumped uncomfortably against the doorknob.

Her room was much smaller now than it ever had been in the past. The desk and bookshelves had been removed to make room for a queen sized trundle bed for guest accommodation. Ricci was tucked in and peacefully asleep underneath the covers on the top mattress. Jess was sitting on the bottom mattress, his legs covered by his own personal duvet. He was leaning back against the pillows and the wall with a thick book in his hand, though he seemed to be watching her rather than reading.

Rory’s old Yale paraphernalia was still tacked up on the walls, a quaint reminder of what this room used to be like. She had never really minded the shift of things, but sometimes it felt surreal to remember what this room used to look like.

“Hey, so, did your mom just insinuate what I think she insinuated?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Rory said, finally pushing herself up from the door to unbutton her coat. She threw it over the back of her old computer desk chair and rolled her shoulders to alleviate the tension that’d settled in her joints.

“So, they still don’t believe we’re not a couple?”

“Nope.”

“Huh,” Jess said, and Rory felt a chill at his particular tone of voice; she didn’t have to see his face to know what he was thinking. “Can’t say I blame them… ” The trundle bed squeaked and groaned as Jess’ weight shifted. Rory kept her back to him but didn’t find herself surprised when he wrapped his strong arms around her middle and pressed open mouth kisses to her neck. “We haven’t exactly been doing a good job of being discrete these past two years…”

“Jess,” she breathed, turning in his arms to face him. “You’re playing a dangerous game here, Mister.”

“I know,” he agreed with smirk. _Cocky, always so cocky._ But she let herself be pulled in by him and her brain shut off when he kissed her, his lips soft and pliant.

Rory slid her hands up his solid chest, silently thanking every deity she could think of for this man right in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself to him, chest to chest, hip to hip. He moaned into her mouth and felt her entire body vibrate once his tongue coaxed her mouth open. She almost pushed him back onto the bed, her mind imagining all the things they could do right now, but Jess started to pull back and she could only think, _no, no, no. Come closer._

But then she heard the ruffling of sheets and the small, miserable sounds of her daughter finally waking up.

“Mommy?” Ricci’s tiny voice came from the bed and Rory inwardly cringed as Jess pulled away entirely, their kiss ending with a wet pop. “I’m hot and thirsty.”

Jess laughed, resting his forehead against hers. “I’ll go get her some water,” he whispered.

Rory groaned softly but pecked his lips in thanks. “Could you bring the bags while you’re at it? I know Mom said she’d handle it in the morning, but I don’t think sleeping in our day clothes is the smartest idea.”

“I’m on it.”

 

 **II. DECEMBER 24** ** TH ** **2015**

“Happy birthday, Dodger,” Rory whispered in the early morning of Christmas Eve. She leaned down over her mattress to kiss him and grinned when he grumbled his thanks. “Still hate your birthday, huh?”

“Always.”

“But the story of your birth is so special.”

Jess groaned and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Oh yeah, Liz was so drugged up that she thought naming me ‘Jesus’ would be a good idea, but then was actually _so high_ that she forgot the U.”

Rory giggled, covering her mouth with her hand so she didn’t wake Ricci. “I can’t still can’t believe you were meant to be named after Our Lord and Saviour. Liz thought mighty high of you.”

“Didn’t last long,” Jess said under his breath.

Rory kissed him a final time, hoping to placate his grumpy mood before sliding out of bed. “Well, I’m going to make your usual birthday-slash-christmas eve breakfast.”

“So… a stack of funfetti pancakes with a candle in the middle that Luke will actually make but you’ll take all the credit for?”

“You know it, baby. And while I’m doing that, if you could get Ricci up and dressed I’ll love you forever.”

“Huh. And here I thought you already planned on loving me forever.”

Rory paused by the door, a finger resting on her chin in mock-thought. “Mmm. No. See, I was only thinking about loving you forever, but it will be solidified if you get our child up and ready for the day.”

“Well, if it means you’ll love me forever…” He smiled, a real genuine smile, “I guess can do that.”

“You’re the best,” she said, blowing him two kisses before slipping out of her bedroom door.

Her mom and Luke were already milling about the kitchen. Luke had a glass bowl of funfetti pancake mix on the counter that he was stirring with a whisk, and her mother was bent over a magazine.

“Rory! Hey! I was hoping I’d see ya before heading off to the diner this morning.”

“Here I am,” Rory said, wrapping her ams swiftly around her step-father. She was never any good at hugging, but Luke deserved some effort. “I see you’ve got a head start on the Jess tradition.”

“Ah, yeah,” Luke said, waving it off like it wasn’t a big deal. “The kid deserves something nice on his birthday and Ricci loves loves those pancakes too. Jess thinks I don’t notice that he lets her eat most of it but,” he paused, leaning in all dramatic in typical-Luke like fashion, “I notice.”

Rory grinned. “Nothing gets past you, does it?”

“Not with Jess it doesn’t.” He winked and tapped his nose. “Years of training.”

“I believe it,” she agreed before taking a seat beside her mother at the table. “And how are you this morning, my dear mother?”

“Mommy is very tired this morning, Kid. She had a dream about Paul Anka, the real one! I couldn’t get back to sleep after that, so I made coffee and I haven’t slept since. Michel’s been calling to complain about the Inn, but I’m vetting his calls.”

“Don’t you think you should at least tell Michel you won’t be coming in today?”

“I could do that… Or I could not. He’ll yell at me. I have to go in eventually.”

“I’ve been trying to get her to call him and take the day off for the past twenty minutes,” Luke said as he poured some batter into the pan on the stove. “She’s too stubborn to listen.”

As if on cue, her mother’s phone started to vibrate against the table and Michel’s face lit up the screen. Rory snatched it before her mother and answered with the quick slide of her thumb. “Lorelai’s phone!”

Her mother stood up to grab the device back, but Rory pranced around the kitchen, dodging her at every turn. Luke shouted at them to settle down in the background. Rory could barely hear Michel, but it didn’t matter, his anger was evident through his tone.

“Hi, Michel! Yes, this is Rory,” she said, ducking underneath her mother’s arm and darting out into the living room. “Mom’s really exhausted today so she wanted me to tell you to cover the Inn for her.”

_“Well, why did she not inform me of this instead of making me chase after her like some sort of lost puppy?!”_

“She’s just really out of it, Michel. She didn’t sleep well and Jess, Ricci and I got in late last night due to the storm. But, Merry Christmas! I hope you and Frederick have a very happy holiday!”

When he was gone, Lorelai was sitting back at the table looking defeated. “Thanks, kid,” she mumbled.

“I don’t get why that was so hard to do.”

“Because,” Luke spoke up, flipping a pancake without the use of a spatula. Ricci would’ve been impressed by the display. “Your mom had every intention of going into work no matter how exhausted. She’s crazy.”

Rory nodded, not able to think of a real moment where her mother skipped out on work out out of her own vocation. Exhaustion didn’t slow Lorelai Gilmore down, not even at almost fifty.

“Here,” Luke set down a stack of pancakes with a single cake candle in the middle (thought it wasn’t lit yet), “go give these to that nephew and granddaughter of mine. I gotta head out to the diner.”

“Is there a lighter somewhere?” Rory asked just a moment before Luke handed in a small grey bic. She grinned and lit it up, holding the flame over the candle until it caught and then she stood up and made her way over to her bedroom, humming ‘happy birthday’ as she went.

Jess was bent over Ricci’s bag in nothing but his pyjama pants and Rory did her best not to oogle. Ricci’s eyes brightened when she saw her mother coming into the room with Jess’ traditional birthday pancakes, but Rory motioned for her to stay quiet just a little bit longer. Jess finished stuffing the remainder of Ricci’s clothes into the pink, sparkly duffle bag just in time for Ricci to lose all patience and begin her excited screams about birthday-christmas pancakes.

He stood upright, turned and shook his head in in beguilement as Rory, Ricci, and Lorelai all began to sing him ‘Happy Birthday’ at full gait. Luke watched the scene unfold with the same look of hilarious resignation; they rolled their eyes in tandem. Still, Jess smiled. There was no better way to spend his birthday.

“Happy _Biiiiirth_ day, dear Jesssssss. Happy Birthday to you!”

“And many m _ooooooooooreeeeeee_!” Lorelai flourished at the end just as Rory held out the pancakes for Jess.

He leaned over to blow out the candle but stopped to look down at Ricci and gesture her over to help with the jerk of his head. Her big blue eyes grew wide with excitement and she gasped, flapping her hands before running over to help him. Rory smiled at the both of them when they sat on the edge of the bed, the stack of pancakes now in Jess’ hands, and blew out the singular candle together.

“You want the first bite?”

Ricci nodded ferociously. “Yes please!” She all but shouted, waiting impatiently for Jess to cut up a piece for her. He dunked it in the syrup pooling at the edge of the plate and then swiped it through the whipped cream before handing it off. “Mm!!” She did her little happy dance only reserved for the best tasting food, and Jess laughed, a full, real hearty laugh.

The rest of the day was quiet. Ricci put the star atop of the Christmas tree as per their usual tradition, and Jess, Rory and Ricci sat around the living room watching christmas specials while Lorelai caught up on sleep upstairs. Jess hardly paid any attention to the television; he wrote down random lines and ideas for stories in a pocket-sized moleskine notebook.

Ricci was singing Christmas songs and asking to watch a Charlie Brown Christmas even though they’d watched all of them already, but Rory was never one to say no to her daughter anyways. Living with the two of them had allowed him to master the very important skill of tuning things out.

“Jess?” Rory softly called out him, but he didn’t answer. She shifted Ricci in her lap and leaned over to tap Jess on the knee.

Finally, he looked up from his note book, his pen and fringe tucked adorably behind his ear. “Hm?”

“It’s almost four. We need to start getting ready for Grandma’s at six.”

“Oh. Yeah. Right. Sorry, I zoned out for a bit.”

Rory smiled and shook her head. “That’s okay.” She looked down at her daughter and shook her shoulders gently. “C’mon babe, it’s time to get ready to see Grandma. And then after that we’re going to see your other Daddy.”

“But what about Charlie Brown?” Ricci asked, tilting her head back to look up at her mother. From this angle Rory could really see Logan in her. They had the same nose and chin, but Ricci had inherited her mother’s lips.

“We can watch more when we come home.” Ricci pouted, but Rory shook her head firmly. “No, Ricci. You know how Christmas Eve goes. Now, go put on the very pretty dress Grandma Shira bought you.”

“I don’t like that dress, it’s itchy!”

“Ric,” Jess warned, “don’t argue with your mother. Go put on the dress, please, or you’ll hurt Grandma Shira’s feelings. Do you want to hurt Grandma Shira’s feelings?”

“No,” Ricci said miserably, dragging out the word. She slid out of her mother’s lap and stomped all the way back to their room.

Rory laughed once Ricci was gone with the shake of her head. “Why does she only listen to you?”

“She doesn’t, trust me. It took me three tries to get her dressed this morning. She kept saying my choices were ugly. Literally said, ‘Daddy, I love you, but that’s the ugliest outfit I’ve ever seen’. Now, where do you think she picked that up from?”

“God. I keep telling Odette to at least try and have a little more depth in her presence. Ricci’s becoming so shallow… Remember when she used to like wearing mix-matched socks?”

Jess nodded, pushing himself up out of his chair to sit beside her. “Crazy how a few years can change things,” he said, not entirely talking about Ricci’s change in attitude.

Rory seemed to grasp his deeper meaning and she leaned in the kiss him. “You can say that again.”

He grinned, teeth and all, and kissed her again.

Someone cleared their throat from the top of the stairs just as they pulled back.

“So, should I just pretend like I didn’t see anything or are we finally going public?” Lorelai asked, an impish grin splayed on her lips.

“Jig’s up, Kid,” Rory said to Jess, threading their fingers together and Jess could only shrug before giving her hand a firm squeeze.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, you okay?” Jess asked once he caught the look of worry on Rory’s face. They were on their way to Gilmore mansion for the first Christmas celebrated without the patriarch. Rory sat in the passenger seat, as Jess drove the Prius, following Luke’s truck that led the way. “We don’t have to tell her about us if you don’t want. I know we wanted this to be a thing between just us anyway.”

Rory looked over at him with thin, pursed lips. “No, No… It’s not that. I don’t mind if we tell her.”

“Then what’s going on?”

“It’s work. I finally heard back from my boss about the promotion I applied for.”

“Yeah?” His voice went up a few octaves like it always did when he was excited for her. “What’s the verdict?”

Rory shook her head. “I don’t know. It just says he’d like to talk to me in person after the New Year.”

“Rory,” Jess said, “You’ve been working at PCCN for over five years now. You’re an amazing news writer, your stories are so thoroughly researched, and every time you do a segment you kill it. You are one of their best, if not their actual best. No one deserves that promotion more than you.”

“I know… I mean, I _want_ to know. I want to believe it as much as you do, but Gordon is up for the same promotion and I don’t know… he always gets preferential treatment.”

“Which is bull, Rory. You know it, I know it, and your boss better damn well know it, too. You are better than him at everything. If he gets that promotion over you it won’t be because he’s better than you, it’ll be because sexism is inherently built into our society. Trust me when I say that Gordon sucks.”

Rory laughed, covering her eyes with her hand. “You sure know how to cheer a girl up. It’s a good thing Ricci’s riding with Mom and Luke. I don’t think she’s quite old enough to hear this kind of talk from her Dad.”

“The earlier she knows her mom is the shit, the better.” He reached over to grab her hand just as they pulled up to the Gilmore mansion. “I don’t want her to ever doubt it, and I don’t want you to doubt it either.”

“…I love you.”

Jess brought her hand to his mouth and peppered kisses all over her knuckles. “I know.”

“Okay, Han Solo.”

He laughed. “I love you, too.”

Rory threw him a coy look as they parked in the roundabout. “I know.”

“There’s the love birds!” Lorelai called out to them once they stepped out of the car and onto the roundabout. “Did you two enjoy your private car ride?”

“Mom,” Rory whined. “Don’t start.”

“Rory and Jess, sitting in a tree—“

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Ricci filled in explosively, her gloved hands up high in the sky. There was a shit-eating grin on her face that was no doubt a cross between Lorelai and Logan.

Rory pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled hard. “I can’t believe this,” she muttered, and Jess rubbed her back in soft, tight circles.

“Come on. Let’s get inside.”

It was far too cold this Christmas Eve to do the typical stand on the stoop and wallow, and Ricci never allowed for that anyways. She ran up to the porch and jumped high to ring the door bell.

The door swung open to reveal Emily Gilmore in all her glory. “Rory! Ricci! You’re here!” Emily greeted with a smile worth a million bucks; it disappeared as soon as she looked past the Gilmore Girls and straight to the Diner Boys with a stiff upper lip. “Luke. Jess, Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you, Emily,” Jess said.

“Hi Mom,” Lorelai said with a tight smile. “Almost seems like you missed me there.”

“I didn’t miss you, Lorelai,” Emily retorted, icy as ever. “But, if you’re in such desperate need of validation—Hello, Lorelai. Merry Christmas.”

Lorelai mumbled something under her breath that sounded vaguely like, “It will be once I get a cocktail.”

“What was that, Lorelai?” Emily asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Rory stepped in front of her mother with a big, fake smile. “I love your suit, Grandma! It’s very festive.”

“Oh,” Emily looked down at her cranberry red suit and smiled a bit. “Well, thank you, Rory. Now, come on, come on. No need to let the cold air in. We can catch up over drinks,” Emily said, stepping to the side to let the group in. “What can I get you all?”

“I want hot chocolate with marshmallows!” Ricci said in a voice that Rory and Jess always thought was a little too loud for the Gilmore mansion, but oddly enough Emily never seemed to mind.

“Luke, what can I get you? A beer? Same for you, Jess?”

“Whiskey is fine for me, thanks,” Jess amended.

Luke looked panic at the suggestion, and he glanced at Lorelai who simply shrugged back at him. “Um. Wh-whiskey is fine for me as well, thank you.”

“Whiskey it is. Vodka martini for you, Lorelai? Same for you Rory?”

“I’ll take a soda, Grandma. I have to drive to Shira and Mitchum’s after this.”

Emily paused by the bar cart, turning slightly with a confused look. “Oh… Yes. The annual Huntzberger holiday party. I’m not sure how I forgot about that.”

“I take it you won’t be going this year then, Mom?”

“No, I see no need,” Emily said without turning around. “I only ever attended as your father’s date and he attended to make business contacts. He’s gone now, so there’s no point in me going. Berta! Berta come in here please.”

At once, Emily’s new maid appeared. Rory had met her earlier in the month during a random, one day visit. She still wasn’t certain what to make of her, but she thought it was best to keep her thoughts to herself.

“Berta, please get Ricci here a hot chocolate. Understand? Hot chocolate, with marshmallows.” She emphasized her words with hand gestures, and Jess snorted beside her. Rory threw him a mock glare, and he mouthed a quick apology. Berta seemed to understand what it was Emily wanted for she nodded so fast that her brown curls flew all over the place and in a swift moment she was gone.

Jess caught Rory’s attention again with a small nudge in her side, and when she met his eyes he jerked his head toward the wall where the infamously large portrait of her grandfather sat.

“You weren’t kidding, huh?” He muttered and Rory shook her head.

“Nope. Not kidding.”

“Geez.”

Rory smiled down into her lap just as Emily placed a clear soda in front of her, alongside Jess’ whiskey. “Berta will be here soon with your hot chocolate, Little Miss!” She tapped Ricci’s nose with her boney finger and gave her granddaughter a big, large smile. Ricci grinned right back at her.

“So, Rory, tell me how is the job at PCCN going? I got my cable provider to make sure I get your news station all the time. I tune in every morning at nine to make sure I don’t miss your segment! It just makes my day to see you on television.”

Rory blushed and toyed with her drink, running her finger around the rim of the glass. “Thank you, Grandma… The job is going really well actually.”

“Even Luke put a TV in the diner, and it’s only ever tuned in to PCCN so we can all see Rory’s segment at nine,” Lorelai chimed in.

Luke blushed. “Ah, it’s not a big deal… I’m just happy to support Rory in any way I can.”

“Well,” Rory started, feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the support in one room. “I am up for a promotion but I’m not sure if I’ve got it yet… But if I do, I’ll be running a brand new evening broadcast from five to eight. It’s a big pay raise, and a much bigger job. I’d have my own blog, I’d be the managing editor, and I’d be interviewing a ton of people from various political climates. It’d basically be my own brand.”

“Oh, Rory, that’s wonderful!” Emily said, waving Rory’s concerns away with both hands. “Of course you’ll get it! You’re the best thing they’ve got over there!”

Jess smiled and placed his hand on the small of Rory’s back. “That’s exactly what I told her.”

Rory beamed at him, wanting to do nothing more than take his hand.

Emily eyed them for a moment in silence, and Rory thought that Jess would be sure to retract his hand, but he only tightened his hold. “Well, well… This is certainly a new development isn’t it? Or, well, not new, perse. We’ve all known for years, but it’s nice to see you two so… out in the open, finally.”

Rory fought off the urge to start fanning her face. She was certain she was about to burst into flames.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Jess agreed, rubbing circles against Rory’s back once again. How did he always manage to stay so cool?

Emily smiled, and though it was thin and wane, it gave Rory the confidence to reach over and grab Jess’ free hand. “It has been kind of obvious, hasn’t it?

Lorelai scoffed from the other side of the room, her vodka martini already finished. “You can say that again.”

“Plus,” Luke spoke up, eyes darting between everyone in the room, “it helps that Ricci’s been outing you for years…”

Rory blinked, brows drawn together in confusion. “She’s what?” She looked down at her daughter, who wasn’t paying any attention to the grown up talk. She had fished Rory’s phone out of her small clutch resting between them and was trying playing Clumsy Ninjas with the most serious concentration. It wasn’t worth it to talk to her about it now.

“Yeah,” Lorelai confirmed, nodding exuberantly. “Ricci told us you guys have been kissing since she was three.”

“Of course she has,” Jess mumbled. “Ricarla Lorelai Gilmore, everyone. The very precious and adorable loud mouth.”

“But…” Rory looked between her family members incredulously. “Why didn’t any of you ever say anything? Outside of jokes, I mean…”

“Oh, we did plenty of times!” Emily exploded, getting up to refill Lorelai’s drink. “You two just kept denying it and denying it, so we figured we were all better off leaving you to it. God knows why you were denying it in the first place, it’s not like you’ve ever been discrete. Sneaking off together at functions, Jess being with you at every turn. Your daughter calls him ‘Daddy’ for goodness sake! And this _roommates_ excuse you two kept using. What? Did you think we were idiots?” She asked, handing off Lorelai’s refreshed drink to her. “You wanted to have your pride so badly so we let you keep it, but all of us knew. Of course we knew! How could we not know?!”

“Oh, I… Um. Wow.” Rory blinked hard against the revelations of her grandmother’s rant. “We’re sorry for hiding it for so long it just… never felt like the right time to broach the subject. Everything is just so complicated with Logan and Odette and maybe staying silent didn’t help matters but… Yes, Jess and I are together. And have been for some time. It’s just been a bit hazy for us, too.”

“But, you two are happy, right?” Luke asked before Lorelai or Emily could say anymore.

Jess smirked back at his uncle and squeezed Rory’s hand. “Yeah. We’re happy.”

“Then that’s all that matters.”

Just then Berta came in with Ricci’s hot chocolate and announced that dinner was ready to be served.

 

* * *

 

“So, now your whole family knows about us… How do you feel? Any regrets?” Jess asked as they walked back to the car, his right hand resting comfortably on Rory’s waist and his left holding tightly onto Ricci’s right.

“Nope. No regrets. Feels good,” Rory said. “Really good. But you know what this means, right? You have to come to the Huntzberger holiday party now.”

Jess scoffed, but he kept his hand firmly in place. “And here I thought I was always coming.”

Rory gasped and spun to face him, a bright smile on her lips and in her eyes. “You were?! But, you never said! And here I thought you just dressed up extra fancy for Grandma.” She played with soft, silk fabric of the blood red tie around his neck. He looked good when he cleaned up. Really good.

“Huh. And I thought it was obvious that this is a Huntzberger tie. After all, Odette did buy it for me last Christmas.”

“But you didn’t go to the party last year.”

“Yeah and Odette keeps bringing it up. She’ll never let me live it down, and so now I’m going to have to go for the rest of my life just to make up for the one year I didn’t go. Unless I want to hear that very annoying french accent droning on and on about how I never put in any effort for them, but they alwaaaays come to us.” He rolled his eyes. “Blablablabla.”

Rory leaned up to kiss him. “Be nice.”

“I’m always nice.”

Ricci giggled at that. “No you’re not, Daddy. My teacher is still afraid of you.”

“Your teacher’s a hack.”

“What’s a hack?”

“A hack is a—“

Rory hit him in the shoulder with the back of her hand, blue eyes wide and blazing in warning.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older. Get in the car, baby so I can strap you in or else we’ll be late to Grandma Shira’s and Grandpa Mitchum’s.”

The ride to the Huntzberger’s was blissfully quiet, probably in some weird, futile attempt to soak up as much peace and tranquility as possible before walking into a metaphorical shitstorm. Shira never once warmed up to Rory, and after their affair was made public, Shira’s attitude became straight up unbearable. She was perfectly nice, if not a little passive-aggressive, to Ricci, but all her energy went into being as nasty as possible to both Rory _and_ Jess. Logan always warned her to play nice, but when had Shira ever listened to her son before?

Jess could still remember the day he walked into the Huntzberger mansion. He’d been in awe, and slightly shell-shocked that Rory had decided to give this life up for a much shittier one in Philly with him. The mansion hadn’t changed much since the last night he’d come here, but many of the original decorations had been replaced with festive pops of red and gold.

The Huntzbergers didn’t have a regular tree. No, theirs was rose gold and had a colour scheme that matched the rest of the house. There were an excessive amount of presents piled up under the tree and Jess knew he should’ve been used to it by now, but every year seemed to shock him just as much as the last. Shira was talking their ear off, no doubt throwing thinly veiled insults that fell deaf on Jess’ ears.

“Jess!” Logan called out from down the hall, rushing over with his typical confident strut. “Do my eyes deceive me, or are you really here?”

Jess took in a deep breath and plastered on a fake smile. “I’m here.”

“It’s good to see you again, man,” Logan offered his hand for Jess to shake, and Jess took it. They shook it out briefly. “That the tie Odette got you last year? I told her it’d look good with your complexion. Hey! Today’s your birthday isn’t it? That notification went off in my phone but I didn’t know if I’d be seeing you. Happy Birthday, seriously.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime man, anytime!”

Rory cleared her throat behind them, and gestured down to their daughter with her eyes.

Logan got the hint. He gave Jess a sheepish grin before stepping around him and kneeling to the ground with his arms thrown wide open. “There’s my little Princess! C’mon, give Daddy a hug!”

Ricci smiled and rushed into Logan’s arms with a happy squeal, throwing her tiny ones around his neck. “Merry Christmas, Daddy!”

“Merry Christmas to you, Princess! You excited for all your presents?”

“Yeah!”

Logan let go of her then, but kept his hands on her tiny shoulders. “Your little brother is so excited to see you, too!”

Ricci wrinkled up her nose and both Rory and Jess fought back a laugh. “He is?” She said in disbelief. Ricci didn’t like babies; she’d even told Rory and Jess that she would _never_ like babies. Rory thought maybe her mind would change eventually, but Jess was less likely to believe it. Ricci very rarely changed her opinion.

“He is! Come on, lets go see him and your step-mother.”

Ricci sighed dramatically and let her bottom lip poke out a bit. “Okay, if I must.”

Logan looked up at Rory with his eyebrows raised, but she just shrugged back.

“She’s going through a very melodramatic phase right now.”

“So I see. Well, come on, Princess.”

When they were gone, Rory leaned into Jess’ side with a small, breathy laugh. “It hasn’t even been an hour and I’m exhausted.”

“Me too,” he murmured into her hair before pressing a firm kiss just above her ear. “How long do we have to stay?”

“At least until Ricci, Max, and Christian opens all their gifts.”

“So, two hours at least.”

Rory nodded. “Two hours at least.”

“Am I driving or are you?”

Rory slipped her arm around his waist and into the pocket of his slacks. “I’ll drive. Let’s go get you some more hard liquor. You’re gonna need it. I’m used to all of this, and besides it is your birthday.”

They were forced to schmooze with some of the other Huntzbergers and their guests. Rory was reluctant to leave Jess’ side, but Honor kept saying she was sure he would be fine on his own. She wanted to talk to Rory and catch up without partners and kids lurking around, and so Jess mustered up the most reassuring smile he could and shooed Rory off to have fun.

Rory reluctantly left his side and followed Honor to a more private room for them to talk. They caught up on their lives without needing to censor themselves due to the children around them. It was nice, though they didn’t talk much about anything. Honor kept trying to get a feel for how Rory _really_ felt about Odette, just as she’d been trying to do for the past five years. There was nothing really for Rory to say. Odette was nice, sometimes abrasive, and really quite French, but Michel had prepared her well for all of that. There was nothing Odette could do or say that Michel hadn’t done already, anyway.

“She’s very sweet to Ricci, and Ricci loves her, so that’s all that matters in the end.”

“But,” Honor leaned in as if she might be overheard, “just between you and me, she’s kind of a bitch, right? I mean out of all the women I could choose for my brother… Odette is not even in top ten. Is it nice that she has her own money? Sure, but we all know Logan needs much more than that.”

Rory shrugged. “He seems happy to me.”

“Oh, please. He was always happiest with you, but… I mean that ship has sailed, right? You and Jess really are…?”

“Yes,” Rory said without hesitation. “We really are and have been for two years. Maybe more, honestly. Lots of denial there, you know? But no more denial now. It’s all out in the open, we know what we want and we’re going for it. We’re very happy.”

Honor nodded, nice and slow. “Well,” she said, smiling in a way that seemed genuine—at least to Rory, “I’m glad! Logan told me that Jess was really there for you during pregnancy, offered you a job at his publishing house, even became your roommate when you couldn’t afford rent and refused Logan’s money. I know my mother can be rude about it, but I think it’s great that you found someone willing to be a father to your child. Lord know it’s hard enough to find men who want to be father’s to their own children, much less someone else's. Jess is a great guy, Rory—really. I’m glad you have him.”

“Me too.”

“We should probably get back. Kids are probably ready to open the presents by now. I know Christian is a little monster whenever he sees presents under the tree. It’s been an absolute nightmare getting him to wait until tonight.”

The festivities for the children went off without a hitch. Ricci, as the only female grandchild to the Huntzbergers, was spoiled exponentially, and Rory and Jess were forced to sit through all the gushing and fawning over her child and the designer clothes she'd received. As appreciative as Rory was that her child was loved by everyone around her, she felt some sort of bitterness settling in; the Huntzbergers did everything big and bold, and she was beginning to wonder if the small, intimate family christmases back in Stars Hollow were going to wind up lacklustre for Ricci as she got older.

Fortunately, Rory was not the only one worried about Ricci’s future humility.

“Can you believe they bought her a fur coat?” Jess hissed into her ear as they waited for the maid to collect their coats. Ricci was off somewhere saying goodbye to Odette. “What five-year-old needs a fur coat to match her step-mother? Who is she? North West?! I know Odette is obsessed with thinking she looks like Kim Kardashian, but this is a little much, don't you think?”

Rory had never wanted to kiss Jess harder than at that very moment.

“Marry me,” she said, turning on her heel to stare him right in the eye.

He blinked at her, brow wrinkled in confusion, mouth half-open to continue his previous rant. “I… what?” His tongue felt heavy and dry in his mouth.

“ _Marry me!_ ” She repeated, her voice barely above a whisper, but there was this crazy excitement in her eyes that reminded Jess of when they were seventeen and messy. “It’s been long enough. Everyone knows about us now. You’re the father to my kid, you’ve been there since the beginning… You get me better than anyone and there is no one else at this godforsaken torturous party I’d rather be with. So… Marry me. Let’s make it official.”

“Right now?” He said, feeling stupid at his answer when she laughed with reckless abandon. The Huntzberger staff were staring openly now.

“No, not right now.” She giggled, feeling drunk though she hadn’t had a drop of alcohol. “But, someday. Soon, hopefully? Just… say yes or okay or something so I know I’m not making a total fool out of myself?”

Jess shook off his confusion and bit at his lower lip to keep his grin at bay. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

He nodded. “Okay,” he confirmed, threading their fingers together.

Rory shrieked and threw her free arm around him before sealing their engagement with a kiss.

 

 **III. DECEMBER 25** ** TH ** **\- JANUARY 1** ** ST ** **2016**

Christmas day at the Crapshack was it’s usual quirky event. Lorelai went above and beyond to make things fun for Ricci in a way that not only made her feel special but humbled her from the previous nights event. April had been asleep on the couch by the time they’d returned from the Huntzberger party, ready to spend Christmas morning with the Gilmore’s before she had to rush off and spend Christmas afternoon with the Nardini’s. Emily came over just before Anna dropped by to pick up April, and she’d made haughty comments about them not having the decency to wait before opening all the gifts until she arrived, but the matriarch’s complaints didn’t put a single dent in the day.

Liz, T.J and Doula made their way over eventually, dressed in the ugliest matching Christmas sweaters that Jess had ever seen. Suddenly, he felt grateful to be the kid Liz could never remember having.

“There’s my handsome man!” Liz exclaimed once she spotted Jess, rushing over to place sloppy wet kisses on both his cheeks. “You look good!” She always said the same thing when she saw him, but he didn’t care enough to complain.

He also didn’t bother to point out that she’d failed to wish him a happy birthday, he simply wiped her kisses off when she was out of sight and gathered up the small stack of presents he’d gotten for Doula and brought them over to his nine-year-old little sister.

Of course, out of all the kids that fluttered in and out of the Crapshack on Christmas Morning, Ricci had the largest haul of gifts. By the time the thirtieth of December rolled around and it was time to leave, Jess and Luke were having the hardest time arranging all the gifts in the car.

“Your kid is spoiled,” Luke grumbled. “Are there any gifts here that aren’t for her?”

“I doubt it.”

Lorelai, Rory and Ricci watched them struggle out on the porch, each of them wrapped up in matching thick, fuzzy cardigans that Jess bought them all for Christmas. If there was one thing he could tell his seventeen-year-old self, it would just be to give it time and have patience. Everything had worked out just fine in the end.

“You should come visit us out in Philly,” Jess offered to Lorelai once the trunk was finally shut and Ricci was strapped into her booster seat. “I know Rory would love to have you guys over more.”

Lorelai wrapped him up in a hug, which still felt weird despite their good relationship, and promised she’d beg Luke to drive her down everyday until he cracked. Jess could only smirk in response.

Rory and her mother took the longest to say goodbye, leaving Ricci and Jess waiting in the car after their much, much shorter ones. When Rory finally climbed into the passenger seat, her blue eyes were wet and she was sniffling, but she got it together by the time they past the town sign.

 

* * *

 

 

Philly was the exact same as it was when they’d left it, and their apartment was pristine when they walked through the door.

Ricci seemed excited to be home, screaming loudly as she ran into her room and jumped on her bed. Rory laughed, yelling after her to be careful. Jess pecked Rory on her cheek softly with the promise to get all the bags and gifts from the car. When he returned, she was laying on the couch with her feet up, her head laid back against the cushions and her eyes closed.

Their first night home was quiet, save for Ricci’s happy giggles as she played with her new toys, read her new books and tried on her new clothes. Sometimes she ran out into the living room to show Rory and Jess something important, but for the most part she kept to herself.

“What are our New Year’s plans again?” Rory asked on New Years Eve as Jess cooked the girl’s lunch in the kitchen. “Are we staying in or…?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not. Matt and Chris are going out, of course, but I’d rather not deal with their drunk asses. Ricci has plans without us, right?”

Rory hummed in agreement. “Kelsey’s mom is having some Kindergarten New Year’s Bash. Since when do five-year-olds need a New Year’s Bash?”

“Cool Mom’s will do just about anything to remain cool.”

“Are we comfortable with her going?”

Jess turned off the stove and shrugged, though he knew Rory wasn’t looking at him. “I thought you talked to Kelsey’s mom about it thoroughly already and were okay with it?”

“I did. I am. I mean, it sounds fine, honestly. Chances are they’ll actually be in bed long before twelve.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem?” He asked, pouring a few spoonfuls of mac and cheese into three bowls. Jess grabbed the ketchup from the fridge and put it all over Ricci’s before mixing it up. He grabbed hot sauce for his own and extra cheese for Rory’s. “Are you worried five-year-old’s are going to get out of control? Too much ice cream maybe?’

Rory pouted at his teasing, twisting on the couch to look at him. “No. I just… I’ve been thinking—what if Kelsey’s mom is Ricci’s Lorelai.”

“You’re Ricci’s Lorelai. Your name is literally Lorelai.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Rory pushed herself up from the couch to grab her bowl of mac and cheese from Jess’ line up. Her bowl was the one with the Harry Potter print all over it; Ricci’s was pink with unicorns and Jess’ was matte black. “I mean what if she’s Ricci’s cool mom. I’m not a cool mom. I’m a real mom. I’m so type-A! My mom always said it growing up! I’m not fun at all…”

Jess smirked at her and handed her a fork from the drawer. “You’re adorable, and you’re plenty fun. No one’s ever going to be cooler than you in Ricci’s eyes—at least not until she’s fourteen, then you’ll be dead to her until she’s twenty, probably.”

“Ha-ha. You’re so funny. But, seriously, Jess, don’t you ever worry that Logan’s the cool dad sometimes?”

“No.”

“Really?”

Jess shrugged. “I mean, Logan’s Ricci’s real dad. I’m not. I’m just grateful she calls me Dad at all.”

“You know your Ricci’s first choice, right? Her second word was ‘Dada’ and it was to _you_. She’d see pictures of you when you were at work and point at it and say ‘Dada’. It took her much longer to realize that Logan was her Dad, too. He wasn’t there like you were.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jess said, but he didn’t sound convinced.

Rory bit her upper lip and turned Jess to face her. She laid her palm against his cheek and brushed his hair away from his face. “I’m serious Jess. You’re the first choice. Not just for Ricci, but for me, too.”

Finally, he cracked a smile and leaned down close to kiss her. “Thank you,” he whispered against her lips.

“Nothing to thank me for. Now, let me go call our child to come out and eat before we turn into a blubbering, mushy mess on the kitchen floor.”

Lunch passed by quickly, and before Rory knew it, they were getting Ricci packed up for her first over night sleep over. Rory couldn’t help the feeling gnawing in her chest. Was Ricci too young for this? She was only five, and suddenly that seemed like a very young age to be away from home, but Kelsey and her mom lived in the same apartment building on the same damn floor. If anything were to go wrong, Rory could simply march right over and demand her child back, so that was better than nothing.

“She’s gonna be fine,” Jess said, rubbing Rory’s shoulders as they walked away. “We have one night to ourselves, so let’s crack open that champagne your grandmother gave us forever ago, put on a shitty movie and if you really, really want to we can watch the ball drop.”

“Ooh, a man after my own heart.”

“And here I thought I had it already.”

Rory twisted in his grasp, walking backward toward their apartment door, her ponytail swaying as she moved. “’Don’t worry, you do. But, I have a better idea. How about we curl up in bed and read together? We haven’t done that in so long, I miss it.”

“I accept your offer, Ms. Gilmore. Now, which book?”

“Anything without illustrations, magic, or rhyming names please.”

“So, The Sun Also Rises?”

Rory turned on her heel once they got back to their place, marching through the front door with a renowned conviction. “Also, anything but the ever painful Hemingway, babe. Anything but.”

“How about we read some erotic poetry and see where the inspiration takes us?” He asked, locking the door behind them.

“Now, who would I be to turn such a beautiful suggestion down?” Rory waggled her eyebrows as she moved past the kitchen and into their bedroom, ready to peruse their collection of literature.

In the hours that past, Jess and Rory lay sweaty, famished and intoxicated in their bed with piles of poetry books on the floor and an empty bottle of champagne on Rory’s bedside table. Jess trailed his fingertips up and down Rory’s bare side, his fingers sometimes traveling to the soft underside of her breasts. He leaned in to kiss a bead of sweat off of her collarbone, sucking at the hollow of her throat and moving up to her pulse point.

She hummed in what sounded like contentment, her nimble fingers running through the long, sweaty hair at the nape of his neck. “I missed doing that for hours. A kid really does change everything.”

“Yeah,” Jess agreed, nibbling on her ear. “But just think, the older she gets, the more sleep overs she’ll have and the more time we get to do this.” He trapped her beneath him as he balanced on his hands so not to crush her and he pressed his lips against hers just as a series of cheers and shouts erupted from their television out in the living room.

 _“HAPPY NEW YEAAAAR!!!!!”_ came the faint shouts and Jess grinned against Rory’s mouth.

“Happy New Year, Rory.”

Rory hooked her leg around his waist, pressing herself closer to him. “Happy New Year, Jess.”

 

 **IV. JANUARY 4** ** TH ** **2016**

“You find out if you’ve got the promotion today, right?” Jess asked Rory the day after New Years. He leaned in to kiss her when she took a seat at the kitchen table and then poured her a hot, fresh cup of coffee.

“I sure do,” Rory confirmed, watching as he fixed her coffee just the way she liked it. “Mm. You’re so good to me. Best husband-to-be, ever. You’re going to take Ricci to school today, right?”

Jess nodded, placing the drip kettle back onto it’s base. “Absolutely.”

“Thank you.” Rory checked her time piece. “Ah, I’ve gotta run soon. But we can have lunch together? I’ll meet you at our favourite cafe by Truncheon?”

“Sounds good. Will you know about the promotion by then?”

“Yeah, I should,” Rory said, nodding. “I’m so nervous. How do I look? Professional? Competent? I’ve prepared a ton of counter arguments just in case by boss says no.”

“You look great. But, when did you have time to prepare counter arguments?”

“Last night. I couldn’t sleep, I was too anxious.”

“Rory…”

“No, no, it’s fine! I got it all figured out. I feel fine, I promise.”

Ricci’s door squeaked open just as Jess was about to respond, the little pitter patters of her bare feet against the cold morning hardwood got louder until her tiny frame popped into the kitchen. Her light brown hair was a mess, and her blue eyes were thick with sleep. She climbed up onto one of the kitchen chairs and placed her chin in her hands.

“Food please, Daddy,” she demanded without even looking at him.

“Poptarts, cereal, or eggs and bacon, Munchkin?”

“Poptarts, please.”

“Coming right up.”

Rory sipped her coffee silently, watching Jess unwrap a single poptart and put it into the toaster. He grabbed Ricci’s favourite mug from the clean dishwasher and filled it with hot chocolate he’d already made before placing it down in front of her. Ricci’s blue eyes seemed to sparkle once she caught sight of the mug. She wrapped her tiny fingers around it and took a loud, long slurp.

When Jess caught her eye across the table, Rory smiled uncontrollably. “You spoil her.”

Jess glanced down at Ricci and ran his fingers through her thick hair just before bending to kiss the crown of her head. “What can I say? She’s cute. I’m weak.”

Rory kissed her fiancee goodbye before she left and kissed him again when he wished her good luck at work. Ricci rushed out of her room half-dressed to hug her mother goodbye just before Jess shooed her off to her room to finish getting ready.

Jess loaded her backpack up with the necessary things—books, pencil case, snacks, juice boxes and her lunch. He clasped her hand tight in his own before heading out the door, locking the door behind them and starting off on the ten minute walk to Ricci’s school. He dropped her off in front of the gate leading to her kindergarten class, only leaving when he made sure her teacher had gotten her in the head count at least twice and made eye contact with him.

He backed away slowly, waving goodbye to Ricci as she screamed a loud, _“BYE DADDY!!!”_ amongst all the other kids and walked the rest of the fifteen minutes to Truncheon Books.

The store had a familiar smell of old books mixed with the musk of cologne and perfume. They’d installed a bell on top of of the door, and the chime, though annoying after a few hours, was a somewhat welcoming sound after being away for so long.

“There he is!” Matt cried out from the middle of the staircase. “We were wondering if we’d ever see your face again. Chris!! Jess’ back!”

Chris wandered out from the back, his arms filled with books. “What—? Oh! Jess! Hey man, welcome back. We kind of missed you around here. Or, well, I did. Matt is insufferable.”

“Hey!”

Jess grinned, holding out his hands to take some of the books taking over Chris’ top half. “Sorry I left you with his ass.”

“Ah, I forgive you.”

“I’m right here!” Matt cried.

Jess grinned at Chris, his arms now filled with books. It felt good to do something. “So, how was your holiday? You and Jon have a good time?”

“His family is insufferable, as usual. How was your holiday? Stars Hollow still postcard-y? Ricci get spoiled to death?”

“It was a good holiday. The Hollow is always postcard-y—not a real word by the way, but I get you—and everyone went above and beyond for Ricci, as usual. Only made worse by the Huntzbergers, of course.”

Matt whined and stomped his feet on the staircase. “You g _uuuu_ ysss.”

Chris threw Jess a look as they set the books down on an empty table. “He is way too old to be doing that.”

“Tell me about it,” Jess retorted.

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d just talk to me!! Stop leaving me out!”

Jess pursed his lips to keep himself from laughing, but his shoulders shook in a few silent chuckles before he turned around to face Matt. “Alright Matt, how was your holiday?”

Matt’s face went alight as he launched into a long story about his sister and his mother and the food and the gifts and how cute his nieces and nephews are. And Jess listened, nodding along and adding little inflections of approval as he helped Chris set up the new display.

 

* * *

 

 

“—And that’s all we have today for Live at Nine. I’m Rory Gilmore and you’re watching PCCN!”

Rory grinned at Hank, the cameraman, once the bright red dot disappeared.

“You crushed it again, Gilmore!” Mia called out to her, moving her headset down from her ears to rest around her neck, it caught on her wild curly hair and she struggled with detangling it before getting it where she wanted it. She rushed forward to give her co-worker, and friend, a giant hug. “I’m going to keep saying it: McAvoy would be crazy not to give you this promotion! You should see our live broadcast numbers. You pull it in, girl!”

“Oh Meems, stop.” Rory blushed, but she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “Gordon still pulls in crazy numbers on his segment, too. I can’t get cocky.”

“Jess would disagree.”

Rory shook her head, still smiling. “Trust me, I know. You ever notice how if you tell him _he’s_ amazing, he gets all bashful, but he claims I have to know I’m the best?”

“That’s because he looooves you,” Mia sang, fluttering her long dark eyelashes against her tawny brown skin.

Rory smile morphed into a big, lovesick grin. “Yeah, he does.”

“Okay, now,” Mia placed her arms on Rory’s shoulders and steered her toward the refreshments table, “go get yourself some coffee and a danish and prepare yourself for that meeting with the boss! Get that promotion girl!”

There was only a thirty-minute wait between the end of her segment and her meeting with McAvoy, but the moment Rory finished her danish and coffee she felt the anxiety start to buzz in her fingertips. She sent Jess a quick text, played some game of Ricci’s on her phone to pass the time, and almost fell to the floor when her boss’ sectary called her into his office.

“Ms. Gilmore, hello,” said Charles McAvoy. He sat poised in pretty in a well-fitted pinstriped suit with a very loud, yellow and blue tie. His frame was slight and thin, his cheekbones so high that they almost contoured his face into sharp, dramatic angles that matched his pointy chin. “Please, have a seat.”

Rory automatically did as she was told, her hands folded in her lap as she sat up poised and straight.

“Ms. Gilmore, tell me, do you like working for PCCN?”

“Yes, absolutely! This news station is like my home, sir. I got this job when I was twenty-seven and pregnant. I started out as a news writer for you and I worked my way up to a segment host in four years. I have made so many connections here and so many friends. I couldn’t even imagine working anywhere else.”

McAvoy chuckled at her rant and Rory felt her face burn. “I’m glad to hear that. Now, when you put your name in for this new position I found myself a bit shocked. I thought, ‘This girl certainly hasn’t been here half as long as Gordon Harden and yet she feels bold enough to go up against him?’ But, see, I like that in a person. You have tenacity, Ms. Gilmore. A passion for the field. I read your personal letter for why you feel as if you would be a good fit for this new adventure PCCN is about to embark on, and I have to say—I agree.”

“You-you do?” She asked, more than certain that she could no longer feel her face.

“I do,” McAvoy nodded. “However, Gordon Harden does have seniority over you, and so I feel as if I am at a cross roads. In hopes that I could choose a path, I pulled up the records of both of your live segment numbers, and you beat Gordon out by a large margin, but I cannot lie to you Ms. Gilmore, I have to wonder if more people tune in because you are a pretty face.”

“I—“

“Ah, ah,” he tutted, his hand held up for her to say no more. “Unfortunately, your live segment does not come with an official feedback commentary box on our website. The only way for me to know whether or not people watch you for your skills is to give you a real shot. You have proven yourself more than capable of holding your own on an half-hour long segment, and now I feel as if it is time to see if you can handle a two hour broadcast.”

Her stomach was queasy now, and bile was threatening to erupt from her throat but she choked it down with a thick swallow. “So I… I got the job?”

“You’ve got a chance at the job. Gordon Harden has that same chance. We shall alternate between the two of you every night for a month and we will make a choice based off of viewer feedback. I want you to put together a small team of people from the office to move up this proverbial ladder with you. I want to know who your choice of executive producer, copywriters, and an economist by next Friday so I can really envision what it is you’ll be bringing to this network. Do we have an understanding?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you have any questions for me?”

“A few actually,” Rory forced herself to say, knowing she needed to seem competent and engaged.

McAvoy smiled, showing off his perfect pearly whites. “Ask away, my dear.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Jess!” Rory waved to her boyfriend from the corner of the small cafe. “Over here!”

“Hey,” he said once he reached her, leaning over for a kiss before he unzipped his coat and hung it on the back of his chair. “How’d the meeting go?”

“Fantastic!”

“So you got it?!” He pushed his sleeves of his sweater up to his elbows just after he took his seat. “I knew you would!”

“Technically it’s just a try out, but I mean, I get to try out!!”

Jess cocked his head to the side in slight confusion. “What? A try out?”

“Yeah! Turns out McAvoy is worried that I just get good views because I’m a pretty face, but he says my journalism skills are amazing and that I have tenacity!” Her hands were flailing a little too much as she talked, but she couldn’t help it, she was excited. “So we’re going to do a few try outs in the spring, I’ll have a full broadcast two to three times a week for a month and then we’re going to compare the numbers and the viewer comments between me and Gordon and whoever has the better outcome, gets the show!”

“Rory, that’s incredible!”

“I know!” Rory gushed. “And, I get to create my own team, Jess. Can you believe it? I’m going to do hiring for my own broadcast network! And you know? I’ve been thinking that even if I don’t win against Gordon, I’ll still have full broadcast experience to put in my portfolio! How mazing is that?!”

Jess didn’t say a word, but he didn’t have to. He was wearing that look that he had always reserved just for her, that same sparkle in his eye she first saw on their drive around Stars Hollow at age seventeen.

“My future wife’s gonna have her own broadcast. One step closer to being Christiane Amanpour.”

A warm burst of affection spread throughout her chest, warming her despite feeling cold not even a few seconds earlier. “Oh please,” she said, blushing. “That dream died when I got pregnant with Ricci. I have a new one now.”

“Yeah?” Jess asked, brown eyes still alight, “and what would that be?

“I just want to be Rory Gilmore-Mariano: journalist, wife and mother extraordinaire… but more than anything else, you know what I want?”

Jess shook his head. “Tell me.”

“I just want to be happy.”

Jess reached across the table, his hand palm-side up in open invitation. Rory placed her smaller one in his. “You will be, I’ll make sure of it.”

And they sat in the cafe, watching the city streets disappear in a cascade of snowflakes.


End file.
